# Scanner Terms, FAQ's and Basic Information



## G1G4

The next several posts in this thread will show you basic information, 10-codes, caution codes, local fire department & rescue squads along with other misc. information. This thread will be updated whenever new information comes about.

*INDEX*

Basic Terms
FD/Police priorities and regional (St. Mary's, Charles, Calvert) fire department's and rescue squads
10 Codes, phonetic alphabet, caution codes and division codes
FAQ's


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## G1G4

*BASIC TERMS*

*6I* - Intoxicated/disorderly
*ALS* - Advanced Life Support
*Area Box* - An area box is used when a fire, fire alarm, CO alarm or smoke detector call is put out. On a working fire, an additional engine company and (for St. Mary's County) Water Supply 5 is added to the call. An example of a working fire dispatch: 'Area Box 3-09, xxxxx Imaginary Lane, for the working house fire. Companies 3, 4, 9 Tower 9, Water Supply 5, Company 39 is due.
*ATL* - Attempt to Locate
*BIR* - Brief Incident Report. This is usually given when the first arriving unit goes on scene. In short, it's a quick summary of what the officer sees.
*BLS* - Basic Life Support
*CDS* - Controlled Dangerous Substance. In short, drugs.
*CJIS* - Criminal Justice Information System
*CMC* - Civista Medical Center
*CMH* - Calvert Memorial Hospital
*Code 601* - running radar
*Code Response* - Lights and sirens. Urgent.
*DOA* - Dead on Arrival
*DOP*- Destruction of property
*DRT* - Dead Right There
*ECC* - Emergency Communications (or Control) Center
*EOC* - Emergency Operations Center
*EP* - Emergency Petition. The person usually goes into emergency custody of the police on scene for either mental reasons or other.
*Expedite* - In terms of responding, it means to step up your response, or respond quickly. 
*Extradite* -To send a wanted person back to where they are wanted from.
*GOA* - Gone on Arrival
*Hazmat Box* - Any incident that involves a hazardous material of any kind; i.e., gasoline tanker, propane/natural gas cylinders greater than 100 pounds, unknown substance; i.e., biological, chemical, nuclear, or Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
*Local Box* - A local box can be service calls, tree downs or things that don't necessarily require an emergency response, but still requires fire department assistance. EG; 'Local Box 1-01, on Budds Creek Road, south of Pin Cushion Road, for the tree down, Company 1 is due, 0855'
*LZ* - Landing Zone. 
*MCU* - Mass Casualty Unit
*MDB* - Short for Mobile DataBase.
*Medical Box* - Single (1) ambulance company response on medical assist calls and those situations where other assistance is rendered.  EXCEPTION: CPR in progress, dispatch ambulance, ALS, fire department.
*MICU* - See: ALS
*MILES* - Maryland Interagency Law Enforcement System
*NCIC* - National Crime Information Center. Almost any traffic stop will result in having the persons name run thru the database.
*NLETS* - National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System
*PAR* - Personnel Accountability Report. These are usually performed on long duration events, or events that require personnel to be rotated in or out of areas. A PAR check is done to make sure all personnel on the fireground are accounted for.
*PC Search* - Probable Cause Search. You'll hear this on traffic stops. It usually requires two officers.
*PD* - Short for 'Property Damage.' This is mainly used when referring to motor vehicle accidents that have no injuries.
*PI* - Short for 'Personal Injury.' This is used when referring to motor vehicle accidents with injury
*Rescue Box* - A rescue box is any type of call referring to any injury as a result of an accident. Motor vehicle accidents, confined space entrapments and entanglements are examples of a rescue box. A rescue box will usually be one engine/squad company and two ambulances per one? (I haven't looked at my dispatch procedures for ambulances in forever) vehicle. A rescue box will also be dispatched when a bus accident occurs, whether there is injury or not. One (1) ambulance will be dispatched for every two- (2) people injured. A minimum of two (2) ambulance companies are dispatched on all motor vehicle accidents when two (2) or more vehicles are involved (unless there is only one confirmed injury) or when in doubt.	
*Shock Trauma* - Commonly referred to as Baltimore Shock Trauma. Not too be confused with Prince George's Hospital
*Simulcast* - A simulcast is used when an incident is transmitted that requires more than one officer to respond to a call. Disturbances, motor vehicle accidents, attempted suicides and fights are examples of calls that would be simulcasted.
*SMH* - St. Mary's Hospital.
*SOW* - Sent on way
*SRO* - School Resource Officer
*TA* - Trading as/business name
*UTL* - Unable to locate
*VFD* - Volunteer Fire Department
*VRS* - Volunteer Rescue Squad


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## G1G4

*PRIORITIES*

Priority 1 - The most urgent and time critical priority. 
Priority 3 - Routine. 
Priority 4 - Fatality. 

*CATEGORIES*
*Category A* - Physiologic abnormalities and/or significant anatomical injuries that require emergent transport to a trauma center. Examples of this are a flail chest, 2 or more proximal long bone fractures (IE; two broken femurs), paralysis, any penetrating injuries to the head, neck or torso or an open or depressed skull. These are automatic flyouts.
*Category B* - Anatomical injuries that require urgent care by a trauma center. Examples of this is paralysis, amputation proximal to the wrist or ankle, crushed, degloved or mangled extremity (IE; crushed foot, skin taken entirely off hand), penetrating injuries proximal to the elbow or knee, or any combination trauma that involves burns. These are automatic flyouts.
*Category C* - This can also be referred to as the 'mechanism category.' These are injuries that are not urgent in nature, but require evaluation and/or treatment by a trauma center based upon mechanism. Unless the patient fits into Category A or B. Examples of this is any high risk auto crash which involves intrusion greater than 12 inches on the side the patient is on or greater than 18 inches on any side, ejection from a vehicle, death in the same vehicle, rollover without restraints, automobile vs pedestrian with significant impact and any motorcycle crash greater than 20 MPH. Category C patients also include those who fall 3 times greater than their height [EG; 6 foot person falls 20 feet, 6x3=18 18 or anything over is a flyout) and exposure to a blast or explosion. These are consultation injuries.
*Category D* - A category D patient is the least critical of any patient being flown out. However, other factors with an original category D patient can lead to the patient being flown out as a C. Factors that result in a category D flyout include a patient being less than the age of 5 or over the age of 55, a patient with a bleeding disorder or one on anticoagulants (SP?), a dialysis patient, any burn patient without other trauma and a pregnant woman over 20 weeks. 

*STAGING LEVELS*

*Level 1* - All responding apparatus report to their assigned areas as   described by SOG.  PAT tags are collected and placed on the PAT tag holder.  Personnel remain on apparatus unless requested by command.
*Level 2* - First arriving apparatus responds to the scene.  All others will respond to an established area as requested by the first Officer or acting officer to arrive on the scene.

*ACCOUNTABILITY LEVELS*

*Level I* - Level I Accountability will always be in effect. 

*Level II* - Level II Accountability will be at the discretion of the Incident Commander.  The IC will advise Fireboard when using this level.  Fireboard will then announce to all units responding on the incident of the level and the location of the “PAT” drop off point (should be at the Command Post).

*Level III* – Level III Accountability is when the Incident Commander determines that the incident requires more stringent accountability; the IC will implement Point of Entry Control.  Fireboard will then announce to all units responding on the incident, the level and the location of the “PAT” drop off point (should be at the Command Post).


*CONDITIONS*

*CONDITION 1* - Fire is either under control or can immediately be put under control by units on the scene or responding.

*CONDITION 2* - A working fire.

*CONDITION 3* - Working fire, more units requested

*RESPONSE BY CALL TYPE (SMC ONLY!!!!!)* These are how the calls are dispatched. (Responses marked with a * indiicate calls for Company 4 add an additional engine company because of Station 14 running mutual aide off of Webster Field.

*Commercial Building Fire** - 3 Companies, 2 Truck, 1 Ambulance. 
*House Fire** - 2 Companies, 1 Truck, 1 Ambulance. 
*Barn Fire** - 2 Companies, 1 Truck, 1 Ambulance
*Shed Fire** - 2 Companies, 1 Truck, 1 Ambulance
*Commercial Fire Alarm** - 2 Companies, 1 Truck
*Residential Fire Alarm** - 2 Companies, 1 Truck
*MVA PI** - 1 Company, 1 Squad, 2 Ambulances
*MVA PI Bus** - 1 Company, 2 Squads and/or 1 Rescue Engine, 3 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit
*MVA Water** - 1 Company, 1 Squad/Rescue Engine, 2 Boats, 1 Raft, 2 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit
*MVA Water/Inland** - 1 Company, 2 Rafts, 1 Squad/Rescue Engine, 2 Ambulances
*MVA Entrapment** - 1 Company, 2 Squads and/or Rescue Engine, 2 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit
*MVA HazMat** - 3 Companies, 1 Squad, HazMat 13, 2 Ambulances, Chief 100, Public Safety/HazMat 18
*MVA Bus PD* - 1 Company, 1 Ambulance
*HazMat Investigation** - 1 Company, HazMat 18, Chief 100, Public Safety
*HazMat Emergency** - 3 Companies, 1 Squad, HazMat13, 2 Ambulances, Chief 100, Public Safety, HazMat 18
*HazMat B**	- 1 Company, HazMat 13, 1 Ambulance, Chief 100, Public Safety, HazMat 18
*CPR – Response determined* - 1 Company, 1 Ambulance, 1 Medic Unit	
By home Amb. Co. - 1 Company, 2 Ambulance, 1 Medic Unit
*Working Comm. Bldg Fire* - 4 Companies, 2 Trucks, Water Supply 5 2 Ambulances -- 2nd Alarm add SMECO, Fire Marshal
*Working House Fire** - 3 Companies, 1 Truck, Water Supply 5, 2 Ambulance -- 2nd Alarm add SMECO, Fire Marshal
*Working Shed Fire** - 3 Companies, 1 Truck, Water Supply 5, 2 Ambulance
*Working Barn Fire** - 3 Companies, 1 Truck, Water Supply 5, 2 Ambulance
*Brush/Woods Fire Class 4*	- 2 Companies
*Brush/Woods Fire Class 5*	- 	3 Companies
*Aircraft Crash Land** - 3 Companies, Crash 13, 1 Squad, 3 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit
*Aircraft Crash Water** - 1 Company, 1 Squad, 3 Boats, 3 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit, MSP Helo, DNR, USCG
*Water Rescue Open Water** - 1 Company, 2 Boats, 1 Ambulance, MSP Helo, DNR, USCG
*Water Rescue Inland Water** - 1 Company, 2 Raft, 1 Squad, 1 Ambulance, DNR
*Boat in Distress*	- 1 Company, 2 Boat, 1 Ambulance, MSP Helo, DNR, USCG
*Search Party* - 3 Companies, 1 Gator, 1 Ambulance, MSP Helo, Search Dogs
*CO Detector No Symptoms* -1 Company
*CO Detector with Symptoms* - 1 Company, 2 Ambulance, 1 Medic Unit
*Gas Leak Residential** - 2 Companies, 1 Squad, 1 Ambulance
*Gas Leak Commercial* - 3 Companies, 1 Truck, 1 Squad, 1 Ambulance
*Structural Collapse* - 2 Companies, 2 Trucks, 2 Squads, Co 13, 3 Ambulances, Medic Unit, Collapse Rescue Team
*Confined Space Rescue* - 1 Company, 1 Truck, 2 Squads, Co13 Confined Space Team, 3 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit
*MVA House Fire** - 2 Companies, 1 Truck, 1 Squad, 2 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit 
*MVA Comm Bldg Fire** - 3 Companies, 2 Truck, 1 Squad, 2 Ambulances, 1 Medic Unit
*Gas Leak Outside* - 1 Company
*Water Flow Alarm** - 3 Companies, 2 Truck, 1 Ambulance	
*Single company responses (county wide):* Vehicle Fire, Brush/Woods Fire Class 3 and lower, MVA PD, Smoke Investigation, Hazardous Condition, Service Call, 1089(Bomb Threat), Farm Accident (plus Ambulance, Squad and Medic Unit), Industrial Accident (plus Ambulance, Squad, Truck and Medic Unit), Alarm Malfunction, Stand By, Fire Prevention, Smoke Detector No Smoke/Fire, Wires/Pole Down, Unauthorized Burning, Landing Zone, Assist Police, Tree Down, Alarm Malfunction, Animal Rescue, Flooding Condition,, Dumpster Fire, Tree Fire, Debris Fire, Fire Reported Out, Rekindle

*FIRE AND RESCUE COMPANIES*

*ST. MARY'S COUNTY*

Company 1 - Leonardtown VFD
Company 2 - Mechanicsville VFD -- Mechanicsville Station
Company 3 - Bay District VFD -- Lexington Park Station
Company 4 - Ridge VFD
Company 5 - Seventh District (Avenue) VFD
Company 6 - Second District (Valley Lee) VFD&RS
Company 7 - Hollywood VFD
'8' - This designation is used for Calvert County units coming into St. Mary's County. EG; Engine 831 would be Solomons Engine 31
Company 9 - Bay District VFD -- California Station
Company 13 - Pax River Fire Department
Company 14 - Pax River Fire Department -- Webster Field Annex
Company 18 - County Hazmat
Company 19 - Leonardtown VRS
Company 22 - Mechanicsville VFD -- Golden Beach Station
Company 29 - Mechanicsville VRS
Company 38 - Lexington Park VRS -- Buck Hewitt Station
Company 39 - Lexington Park VRS -- Great Mills Station
Company 49 - Ridge VRS
Company 59 - Seventh District (Avenue) VRS
Company 79 - Hollywood VRS
Medic - The building is located in Leonardtown, however, they have four designations. Medics 1, 2, 3 and 391.

*CHARLES COUNTY*

Company 1 - La Plata VFD
Company 2 - Hughesville VFD&RS
Company 3 - Waldorf VFD&RS -- Waldorf Station
Company 4 - Nanjemoy VFD
Company 5 - Benedict VFD&RS 
Company 6 - Cobb Island VFD
Company 7 - Potomac Heights VFD&RS
Company 8 - Tenth District (Marbury) VFD&RS
Company 9 - Indian Head VFD&RS
Company 10 - Bel Alton VFD&RS
Company 11 - Bryans Road VFD&RS
Company 12 - Waldorf VFD&RS - Westlake Station
Company 13 - Charles County Dive Team
Company 14 - Newburg VFD&RS
Company 15 - Dentsville VRS
Company 16 - Charles County EMS & Hazmat
Company 20 - NSWC IHD Fire/EMS
Company 21 - Stump Neck Annex EOD Fire/EMS*
Company 51 - Charles County Rescue Squad
Company 58 - Ironsides VRS
Company 60 - Charles County MICU

*CALVERT COUNTY*

Company 1 - North Beach VFD&RS
Company 2 - Prince Frederick VFD
Company 3 - Solomons VFD&RS
Company 4 - Prince Frederick VRS
Company 5 - Dunkirk VFD&RS
Company 6 - Huntingtown VFD&RS
Company 7 - St. Leonard VFD&RS
Company 10 - ALS
Company 12 - Dive Team


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## G1G4

*10 CODES*

10-0 Caution
10-1 Unable to copy
10-3 Stop transmitting
10-4 OK
10-5 Relay
10-6 Busy
10-7 Out of service
10-8 In service
10-9 Repeat
10-10 Fight in progress
10-11 Dog case
10-12 Stand-by (stop)
10-13 Weather report
10-14 Prowler
10-15 Civil disturbance
10-16 Domestic problem
10-17 Meet complainant
10-18 Quickly
10-19 Return to
10-20 Location
10-21 Call _ by telephone
10-22 Disregard
10-23 Arrived at scene
10-24 Assignment completed
10-25 Report in person 
10-26 Detaining subject
10-27 Driver's license information
10-28 Vehicle registration info.
10-29 Check for wanted
10-30 Unnecessary use of radio
10-31 Crime in progress
10-32 Man with gun
10-33 EMERGENCY
10-34 Riot
10-35 Major crime alert
10-36 Correct time
10-37 Investigate susp. vehicle
10-38 Stopping suspicious vehicle
10-39 Urgent - use light & siren
10-40 Silent run - no light/siren
10-41 Beginning tour of duty
10-42 Ending tour of duty
10-43 Information
10-44 Permission to leave
10-45 Animal carcass at
10-46 Assist motorist
10-47 Emergency road repair at
10-48 Traffic standard repair at
10-49 Traffic light out at 
10-50 Accident (PI, PD)
10-51 Wrecker
10-52 Ambulance
10-53 Road blocked at 
10-54 Livestock on highway
10-55 Intoxicated driver
10-56 Intoxicated pedestrian
10-57 Hit & Run (PI, PD)
10-58 Direct traffic
10-59 Convoy or escort
10-60 Squad in vicinity
10-61 Personnel in area
10-62 Reply to message
10-63 Prepare to make written copy
10-64 Message for local delivery
10-65 Net message assignment
10-66 Message cancellation
10-67 Clear for net message
10-68 Dispatch information
10-69 Message received
10-70 Fire alarm
10-71 Advise nature of fire
10-72 Report progress on fire
10-73 Smoke report
10-74 Negative
10-75 In contact with 
10-76 Enroute
10-77 ETA
10-78 Need assistance
10-79 Notify coroner
10-80 Chase in progress
10-81 Breath test
10-82 Reserve lodging
10-83 Work school crossing at 
10-84 If meeting _ advise ETA
10-85 Delayed due to
10-86 Officer/operator on duty
10-87 Pick up/distribute checks
10-88 Present telephone # of 
10-89 Bomb threat
10-90 Bank alarm at 
10-91 Pick up prisoner/subject
10-92 Improperly parked vehicle
10-93 Blockade
10-94 Drag racing
10-95 Prisoner/subject in custody
10-96 Mental subject
10-97 Radio test
10-98 Prison/jail break
10-99 Wanted/stolen indicated

*PHONETIC ALPHABET*

A - Adam
B - Boy
C - Charles
D - David
E - Edward
F - Frank
G - George
H - Henry
I - Ida
J - John
K - King
L - Lincoln
M - Mary
N - Nora
O - Ocean
P - Paul
Q - Queen
R - Robert
S - Sam
T - Tom
U - Union
V - Victor
W - William
X - Xray
Y - Young
Z - Zebra

*CAUTION CODES*

A - Armed 
B - Dangerous 
C - Mental 
D - Armed/Mental 
E - Suicidal 
F - Armed/Suicidal 
G - Resists Arrest 
H - Armed & Resists Arrest 
I - Dangerous & Resists Arrest 
J - Mental & Resists Arrest 
K - Suicidal & Resists Arrest 
L - Approach with Caution 
M - Assaults Police Officers 
N - Drug User/Seller
O - Medical contagion
P - Prior arrests

*ST MARY'S SHERIFF & LEONARDTOWN BARRACK MSP DIVISION CODES*

Adam - Usually a supervisor. Usually a two digit number below 99. EG; "Adam 33 to St. Marys 10-8"
David - A corrections officer. Usually a 3 digit number above 600. EG; "David 668 St. Marys, enroute to the jail with one 10-95"
Ida - Part of the investigative/detective team. Usually a 3 or 4 digit number. The majority of the four digit units are part of the crime lab team, or civilian staff. EG; "Ida 1001 St. Marys, 10-8 in the county'
K9 - Self explanitory.
Paul - A regular patrol unit. These are the sheriff's you see patrolling the streets. They can be identified with any two or three digit number. "Paul 126 St. Mary's, 10-27, 10-29 on the registered owner'
Tom (or T) - These are the state police. When talking to their Leonardtown dispatch, they commonly refer to themselves as simply the letter T. When they need to talk to St. Mary's or any of the sheriff's, they refer to themselves as Tom. EG; 'T26 Leonardtown, Copy traffic -- 235 at MacArthur Boulevard'


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## G1G4

*FAQ's*

What does the term 'box' mean, and what do the terms before them mean? 

A box is a map area that is divided into grids, that include locations that are relative to that area. Within these areas are numerous streets, and they can also include businesses, schools, multi-occupancy residences and other general buildings. 
The terms before them are descriptors for the responding units. These indicate what type of incident they will be responding too. For instance, most local boxes are flooding conditions, tree down, transformer fires or anything that doesn't involve fire, but requires fire department assistance. Most area boxes are anything that could potentially involve fire, such as fire alarms, CO alarms, smoke detectors soundings, and of course house fires. Water rescue is just as the name implies. A medical box is any BLS/ALS call that requires the ambulance to be dispatched first. A rescue box is anything that involves injury that would require the fire department to respond. The most common is motor vehicle accidents, but these could also include structural collapses or entrapments, just to name a few.


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## dgates80

*Listen to Police / Fire / EMS scanners ONLINE*

Southern Maryland Online offers several online scanners that are available for you to listen to online.

Visit Public Safety (Police, Fire, EMS) Radio Scanners for Southern Maryland (Calvert, Charles, St. Mary's Counties) and select the area you are interested in listening to.  There are several listening options, including the Windows Media Player embedded directly into the page above, Winamp, Quicktime, Realplayer, and others are among the supported scanner play options.

Each of the scanners supports up to 50 simultanious users.  This is usually plenty, but, upon occasion, when something major is "going down", the scanner slots do fill up.  We can, and have in the past, enabled an additional feed to be able support more users.

Don't forget the other online audio feed that SOMD has, radioSOMD.fm !  Live internet radio from right here in Southern Maryland!


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## G1G4

I've updated the priorities section to include 'categories.' I've tried to be as thorough as possible (probably too thorough.) If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask.


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## G1G4

I've now included the EMD priority system that SMC has begun to implement. Until I get the official list from either Fireboard or someone in the higher-up's, this list is unofficial.


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## mdff21

M.I.C.U.  Mobile Intensive Care Unit  i.e. Medic Unit.  Mass Casualty Units use the designation of MCU or Mass Casualty Unit.

In Calvert the Company #8 is NOT a mutual aid designation.  For St. Mary's companies responding to Calvert a #2 is added in front of their St. Mary's company number i.e. Bay District is either 23 or 29 to Calvert.


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## G1G4

Fixed. Thanks.


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## General Lee

^^ You are a squirrel


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## G1G4

General Lee said:


> ^^ You are a squirrel



How? Because I'd like for people to understand what they're listening to? 

Yeah, OK.


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## SEABREEZE 1957

What's EOC?  Emergency Operations Center?


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## G1G4

SEABREEZE 1957 said:


> What's EOC?  Emergency Operations Center?



Yup. I'll update.


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## Bay_Kat

Down here in Florida, they use both 10 codes and signal codes, talk about confusing.  Even the phonetics are completely different.  

When they call out a 10-50 it's a traffic stop and I know 10-50 there is an accident, kind of strange hearing 10-50s all day long.

The dispatchers here are interesting, just heard an officer call in for the Gators score and the dispatcher not only gave her the score, but said she was rooting for the other team.


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## G1G4

Bay_Kat said:


> Down here in Florida, they use both 10 codes and signal codes, talk about confusing.  Even the phonetics are completely different.
> 
> When they call out a 10-50 it's a traffic stop and I know 10-50 there is an accident, kind of strange hearing 10-50s all day long.
> 
> The dispatchers here are interesting, just heard an officer call in for the Gators score and the dispatcher not only gave her the score, but said she was rooting for the other team.



Hey, it's laid back! The dispatchers and police here have a very good working relationship. Most of the officers know most of the dispatchers, and vice versa.


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## SEABREEZE 1957

G1G4 said:


> Yup. I'll update.


Thanks; saw the acronym on another post & was just curious.


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## SEABREEZE 1957

*Reconstruction?*

Is that used only for fatalities?


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## Danzig

SEABREEZE 1957 said:


> Is that used only for fatalities?


Fatal or if they think it could become fatal
also for departmentals (police involved) even a fender bender in a parking lot.


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## G1G4

OK everybody, I added a new section within the post for fire departments. This is the response types by call. If you've ever wondered how certain things get dispatched, this should (hopefully) sort it out. This is for St. Mary's County only.


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## mdff21

I thought St. Mary's stopped using the Conditions on fires when they stopped using the 10 codes.  I haven't heard any of them use Engine 31 10-23 Condition 1 for quite some time, with the other units going 10-19,  10-48 or 10-47.


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## G1G4

It depends on who's officer on the truck. The terms are still recognized by Fireboard.


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## Kumba

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any info on Charles' call signs on their radio?

I've figured out what an Adam (Patrol), Adam-Paul (acting sergeant), and Paul (sergeant) are.  Traffic Ops is self-explanatory.  I think "ID" is the investigative division, and Charles-Ocean is a corrections officer.  But I'm a tad stumped on the rest.  Clues/Thoughts?

Here's the ones I've observed, and taken guesses at:

Car (no assigned function?)
David (detective?)
John (PG liason?  Uses 4-digit identifiers, which matches up with PG numbering).
Robert (School resource officer?)
Sam (Prison?  SWAT?)
Victor (Vice/Narc?)


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## mdff21

Kumba said:


> Out of curiosity, does anyone have any info on Charles' call signs on their radio?
> 
> I've figured out what an Adam (Patrol), Adam-Paul (acting sergeant), and Paul (sergeant) are.  Traffic Ops is self-explanatory.  I think "ID" is the investigative division, and Charles-Ocean is a corrections officer.  But I'm a tad stumped on the rest.  Clues/Thoughts?
> 
> Here's the ones I've observed, and taken guesses at:
> 
> Car (no assigned function?)
> David (detective?)
> John (PG liason?  Uses 4-digit identifiers, which matches up with PG numbering).
> Robert (School resource officer?)
> Sam (Prison?  SWAT?)
> Victor (Vice/Narc?)




CAR #  Higher ranking in department.  ie. Car 1 Sheriff Coffey


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## Kumba

mdff21 said:


> CAR #  Higher ranking in department.  ie. Car 1 Sheriff Coffey



Ah, that explains a few things.  Does the lower the identifier (like 1xx over 2xx) signify a higher rank, or is Coffey the exception as Car #1 (which I don't think I've picked up on my scanner before).


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## mdff21

Not really, the numbers are assigned to the individual when hired, with the exception of command staff.  They have the lowest numbers and usually 2 digits.  The three digits numbers are the numbers used when hired and once the officer retires the number is no longer used.  However those that have been there the longest will have lower numbers and most likely have been promoted to a higher rank.  There are a few exceptions, some just like to do patrol work and remain at a lower rank.


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## Kumba

mdff21 said:


> Not really, the numbers are assigned to the individual when hired, with the exception of command staff.  They have the lowest numbers and usually 2 digits.  The three digits numbers are the numbers used when hired and once the officer retires the number is no longer used.  However those that have been there the longest will have lower numbers and most likely have been promoted to a higher rank.  There are a few exceptions, some just like to do patrol work and remain at a lower rank.



Ah, that's good info.  I've only ever heard one two-digit identifier before, and that was a "Charles-Ocean" one, which I assumed to be a corrections officer.  I frequently heard it when they were entering/leaving the county and going straight to the detention center.


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## StadEMS3

Found this while surfing...

St. Mary's 911 Calls


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## mike2u

*Charles County Rebanding & Radioreference.com*

Greetings all,since the rebanding in Charles I've noticed that it's dissapeared on RadioReference.com. Anyone have any insight on that? I had to have my RadioShack Pro96 rebanded but that wasn't a problem. 
Happy scanning!


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## Kumba

mike2u said:


> Greetings all,since the rebanding in Charles I've noticed that it's dissapeared on RadioReference.com. Anyone have any insight on that? I had to have my RadioShack Pro96 rebanded but that wasn't a problem.
> Happy scanning!



They're still there:
Charles County Trunking System, La Plata, Maryland - Scanner Frequencies

However, unless you have a Uniden HomePatrol-1 (which gets its updates from RR), you'll have to program in a custom band plan in order for the scanner to properly track the new frequencies.  Info on that is here:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Rebanding


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## mike2u

Thanks, I see they're back on and even better!


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## officeguy

Who has the call sign 'Ocean King' ? I assume it's not the fishing trawler by that name. Is that the bridge police ?


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## Kumba

officeguy said:


> Who has the call sign 'Ocean King' ? I assume it's not the fishing trawler by that name. Is that the bridge police ?


That's not a callsign, but instead law enforcement phonetic alphabet for saying "OK".  State police agencies (MSP, DNR/NRP, MdTA Bridge Police) switched to the military alphabet (alpha, delta, november, romeo, tango, etc) a while back and abandoned the 10-codes (so "off duty" instead of "10-42"), but local police have stuck with the law enforcement alphabet (adam, david, nora, robert, tom, etc) and the 10-codes.


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## officeguy

Kumba said:


> That's not a callsign, but instead law enforcement phonetic alphabet for saying "OK".  State police agencies (MSP, DNR/NRP, MdTA Bridge Police) switched to the military alphabet (alpha, delta, november, robert, tango, etc) a while back and abandoned the 10-codes (so "off duty" instead of "10-42"), but local police have stuck with the law enforcement alphabet (adam, david, nora, robert, tom, etc) and the 10-codes.



doh!

Thanks.


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## Kumba

officeguy said:


> doh!
> 
> Thanks.



You can find additional talkgroups (what a "channel" is called on a digital system) here at Radio Reference (great place to hang out for scanner info, hit the forums up if you've got any troubles with your particular scanner model):
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=2847

MSP and MdTA technically have their own separate radio systems right now, both of which are old analog systems.  But they participate on the county's digital system for the most part.  At some point, the big wigs up in Annapolis will eventually bring FiRST down here, which is the all-digital, state-wide radio system for state agencies, and MSP/MdTA will use that instead.  No idea if they'll still peer with the county system when that happens.

One outlier, is DNR/NRP.  They operate on their TAWES system, and it's a bit of an odd one.  They do not peer into the county system at all.  More here:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=607


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## officeguy

Kumba said:


> You can find additional talkgroups (what a "channel" is called on a digital system) here at Radio Reference (great place to hang out for scanner info, hit the forums up if you've got any troubles with your particular scanner model):
> http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=2847
> 
> MSP and MdTA technically have their own separate radio systems right now, both of which are old analog systems.  But they participate on the county's digital system for the most part.  At some point, the big wigs up in Annapolis will eventually bring FiRST down here, which is the all-digital, state-wide radio system for state agencies, and MSP/MdTA will use that instead.  No idea if they'll still peer with the county system when that happens.
> 
> One outlier, is DNR/NRP.  They operate on their TAWES system, and it's a bit of an odd one.  They do not peer into the county system at all.  More here:
> http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=607



The stupidity, waste and abuse that governs public safety in MD is truly astounding.


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